Crock Pot Meals  Susan Shelly preassembled the ingredients for chicken fajitas for a crock pot for an easy-to-prepare meal. Photo by Bill Uhrich  1/8/2018 (Photo By MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Food - Drink
What To Do If Your Power Goes Out While Using A Slow Cooker
By JEN PENG
When the power goes out, whether planned or unexpectedly, most people focus on preserving the perishable foods in their fridge or freezer. However, when you have a meal cooking in the slow cooker when the power suddenly shuts off, there are things to consider before you panic and toss the whole dish out.
If you're home when the power goes out, you can finish cooking an incomplete slow-cook meal by using a non-electric appliance like a gas stove or barbecue grill. If your meal has already finished cooking when the power suddenly goes out, the food should be safe in the slow cooker for up to two hours, even without refrigeration.
Unfortunately, if no one is home during the entirety of the slow cooking process and the power goes out, you should throw out all of the food. Even if the meal appears to be finished cooking, there’s no telling if it is fully done, or telling how long it's been sitting at a potentially unsafe temperature.